No 5th Column in the Kremlin? Think again!

Following the re-appointment of Medvedev and his more or less reshuffled government, the public opinion in Russia and abroad was split on whether this was a good sign of continuity and unity amongst the Russian leadership or whether this was a confirmation that there was a 5th column inside the Kremlin working against President Putin and trying to impose neo-liberal and pro-western policies on the Russian people. Today I want to take a quick look at what is taking place inside Russia because I believe that the Russian foreign policy is still predominantly controlled by what I call the “Eurasian Sovereignists” and that to detect the activities of the “Atlantic Integrationist” types we need to look at what is taking place inside Russia.

The Russian 5th column and its typical operations

First, I want to begin by sharing with you a short video translated by the Saker Community of one of the most astute Russian analysts, Ruslan Ostashko, who wonders how it is that a rabidly pro-western and vociferously anti-Putin radio station named “Ekho Moskvy” manages not only to elude normal Russian legislation, but even gets money from the gaz giant Gazprom, which is majority owned by the Russian state. Ekho Moskvy is also so pro-Israeli that it has earned the nickname “Ekho Matsy” (Ekho Moskvy means “Echo of Moscow” whereas “Ekho Matsy” means “Echo of the Matzo”). Needless to say, that radio has the unwavering and total support of the US Embassy. It would not be an exaggeration to say Ekho Moskvy serves as an incubator for russophobic journalists and that most of the liberal pro-western reporters in the Russian media have been, at one time or another, associated with this propaganda outfit. In spite of this or, more accurately, because of this, Ekho Moskvy has been bankrupt for quite a while already, and yet – it continues to exist. Just listen to Ostashko’s explanations (and make sure to press the ‘cc’ button to see the English language captions):

Interesting, no? The state giant Gazprom is doing all it can to keep Ekho Moskvy afloat and above the law. In fact, Gazprom has been financing Ekho Moskvy for years! According to the hyper-politically-correct Wikipedia: “As of 2005 Echo of Moscow was majority owned by Gazprom Media which holds 66% of its shares”. If Gazprom is majority owned by the Russian state, and Ekho Moskvy is majority owned by Gazprom, then does that not mean that Ekho Moskvy is basically financed by the Kremlin? The reality is even worse, as Ostashko points out, Ekho Moskvy is the most visible case, but there are quite a few pro-western media outlets in Russia which are financed, directly and indirectly, by the Russian state.

So let me ask you a simple question: do you really think that Ostashko is better informed than the Russian authorities, including Putin himself?

Of course not! So what is going on here?

Before attempting to answer this question, let’s look at another interesting news item from Russia, the recent article “Pension reform as a fifth column tool to overthrow Putin” (original title “About a fair pension system”) by Mikhail Khazin translated by Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard from the Stalker Zone blog (and cross-posted here and here). Please read the full article as it sheds a very interesting light on what the Medvedev government has been up to since it was reappointed. What I want to quote here are Mikhail Khazin’s conclusions: (emphasis added)

In other words, all of this reform is frank poppycock, a political joke aimed at destroying relations between the People (society) and the Authorities. The specific aim of this is to overthrow Putin, as our liberals are commanded to do by their senior partners from the “Western” global project. And it is precisely like this that we should treat this reform. It has no relation to economic reforms – neither good, nor bad. It not an economic reform, but a political plot! And it is from here that we have to proceed.

Having explained what is really going on, Khazin then goes on to openly state how such an operation is even possible:

Now concerning the media. It should be understood that at the end of the 90’s-beginning of the 2000’s practically all non-liberal media died. Completely. And of course, practically all non-liberal journalists definitely died (only a few dozen mastodons from the times of socialism remain). And the youth that grew from the faculty of journalism are in general totally liberal. They were a little bit suppressed in the middle of the 2000’s, but after Medvedev’s arrival to the president’s post they again blossomed. But then the attack of the State on everything that doesn’t reflect “the policies of the party and the government” began.

And then it so happened that now there are many “patriotic” publications in Russia that employ mainly liberal journalists. An enchanting sight. These journalists (in full accordance with the ideas of Lenin that they didn’t read) see their main task as supporting “theirs” – i.e., liberal-financiers, Nemtsov, Navalny and, so on, and to sully the “bloody KayGeeBee”! And it is this that they are involved in, meaning that, propagandising as much as possible the policies of the government, they optimally irritate the population by using Putin personally. There is just a need every time to act out some disgusting story (how an elderly man died on the way to the polyclinic or hospital, how children were taken away from a large family, how an official or a priest hit a pregnant woman and/or juvenile children with their chic car), to explain that this isn’t just the result of the policies of the liberal power, but the concrete fault of the President, who put on their posts the very ministers and law enforcement officers who encourage all of this.

Amazing, no? This is an attempt to overthrow Putin and it is covered-up by the (pseudo) patriotic press. What about Putin himself? Why does he not take action? Khazin even explains that:

Of course, the President is guilty, first of all, because he understands that if he starts to cleanse this “Augean stable”, then he will be obliged to shed blood, because they won’t voluntarily give back their privileges. But the most important thing, and this is the essence: the liberal Russian elite today set for itself the political task of removing Putin. Why it decided to do this is an interesting question: if Putin himself and a liberal are flesh from flesh, then this task is stupid and senseless. Not to mention suicidal. But if he isn’t a liberal (it is probably correct to say not a political liberal) then, of course, this activity makes sense. But at the same time, for purely propaganda reasons – because people hate liberals, there is a need to hang the label of political liberal on him.

Now let’s connect all the dots: there is a pro-western (in realty, western-controlled) faction inside the government which is financing those who are attempting to overthrow Putin by making him unpopular with the Russian general public (which overwhelmingly opposes “liberal” economic policies and which despises the Russian liberal elites) by constantly forcing him into liberal economic policies which he clearly does not like (he declared himself categorically opposed to such policies in 2005) and the so-called “patriotic media” is covering it all up. And Putin cannot change this without shedding blood.

“it is quite clear to me that a new type of Russian opposition is slowly forming. Well, it always existed, really – I am talking about people who supported Putin and the Russian foreign policy and who disliked Medvedev and the Russian internal policies. Now the voice of those who say that Putin is way too soft in his stance towards the Empire will only get stronger. As will the voices of those who speak of a truly toxic degree of nepotism and patronage in the Kremlin (again, Mutko being the perfect example). When such accusations came from rabid pro-western liberals, they had very little traction, but when they come from patriotic and even nationalist politicians (Nikolai Starikov for example) they start taking on a different dimension. For example, while the court jester Zhirinovskii and his LDPR party loyally supported Medvedev, the Communist and the Just Russia parties did not. Unless the political tension around figures like Kudrin and Medvedev is somehow resolved (maybe a timely scandal?), we might witness the growth of a real opposition movement in Russia, and not one run by the Empire. It will be interesting to see if Putin’s personal ratings will begin to go down and what he will have to do in order to react to the emergence of such a real opposition”

Those who vehemently denied that there as a real 5th column problem inside the Kremlin are going to have a painful wake-up call when they realize that thanks to the actions of these “liberals” a patriotic opposition is gradually emerging, not so much against Putin himself as against the policies of the Medvedev government. Why not against Putin?

Because most Russian instinctively feel what is going on and understand not only the anti-Putin dynamics at work, but also how and why this situation was created. Furthermore, unlike most westerners, most Russians remember what took place in the crucial and formative 1990s.

The historical roots of the problem (very rough summary)

It all began in the late 1980s when the Soviet elites realized that they were losing control of the situation and that something had to be done. To really summarize what they did, I would say that these elites first broke up the country into 15 individual fiefdoms each run by gang/clan composed of these Soviet elites, then they mercilessly grabbed everything of any value, became overnight billionaires and concealed their money in the West. Being fabulously rich in a completely ruined country gave them fantastic political power and influence to further exploit and rob the country of all its resources. Russia herself (and the other 14 ex-Soviet republics) suffered an unspeakable nightmare comparable to a major war and by the 1990s Russia almost broke-up into many more even smaller pieces (Chechnia, Tatarstan, etc.). By then, Russia was subserviently executing all the economic policies recommended by a myriad of US ‘advisors’ (hundreds of them with offices inside the offices of many key ministries and various state agencies, just like today in the Ukraine), she adopted a Constitution drafted by pro-US elements, and all the key positions in the state were occupied by what I can only call western agents. At the very top, President Eltsin was mostly drunk while the country was run by 7 bankers, the so-called “oligarchs” (6 of which were Jews): the “Semibankirshchina”.

This is the time when the Russian security services successfully tricked these oligarchs into believing that Putin, who has a law degree and who had worked for the (very liberal) Mayor of Saint Petersburg (Anatolii Sobchack) was just a petty bureaucrat who would restore a semblance of order while not presenting any real threat to the oligarchs. The ploy worked, but the business elites demanded that “their” guy, Medvedev, be put in charge of the government so as to preserve their interests. What they overlooked was two things: Putin was a truly brilliant officer of the very elite First Chief Directorate (Foreign Intelligence) of the KGB and a real patriot. Furthermore, the Constitution, which was passed to support the Eltsin regime could now be used by Putin. But more than anything else, they never predicted that a little guy in an ill-fitting suit would transform himself into one of the most popular leaders on the planet. As I have written many times, while the initial power base of Putin was in the security services and the armed forces and while his legal authority stems from the Constitution, his *real* power comes from the immense support he has from the Russian people who, for the first time in very long time felt that the man at the top truly represented their interests.

Putin then did what Donald Trump could have done as soon as he entered the White House: he cleaned house. He began by immediately tackling the oligarchs, he put an end to the Semibankirshchina, and he stopped the massive export of money and resources out of Russia. The then proceeded to rebuild the “vertical of power” (the Kremlin’s control over the country) and began rebuilding all of Russia from the foundations (regions) up. But while Putin was tremendously successful, he simply could not fight on all fronts at the same time and win.

Truth be told, he did eventually win most of the battles which he chose to fight, but some battles he simply could not wage, not because of a lack of courage or will on his part, but because the objective reality is that Putin inherited an extremely bad system fully controlled by some extremely dangerous foes. Remember the words of Khazin above: “if he starts to cleanse this “Augean stable”, then he will be obliged to shed blood, because they won’t voluntarily give back their privileges”. So, in a typically Putin fashion, he made a number of deals.

For example, those oligarchs who agreed to stop meddling in Russian politics and who would, from now on, pay taxes and generally abide by the law were not jailed or expropriated: those who got the message were allowed to continue to work as normal businessmen (Oleg Deripaska) and those who did not were either jailed or exiled (Khodorkovski, Berezovski). But if we look just below the level of these well-known and notorious oligarchs, what we find as a much deeper “swamp” (to use the US expression): an entire class of people who made their fortunes in the 1990s, who are now extremely influential and control most of the key positions in the economy, finance and business and who absolutely hate and fear Putin. They even have their agents inside the armed forces and security services because their weapon of choice is, of course, corruption and influence. And, of course, they have people representing their interests inside the Russian government: pretty much the entire “economic block” of the Medvedev government.

Is it really any surprise at all that these people also have their paid representatives inside the Russian media, including the so-called “pro-Russian” or “patriotic” media? (I have been warning about this since at least 2015)

Just like in the West, in Russia the media depends first and foremost on money. Big financial interests are very good at using the media to promote their agenda, deny or obfuscate some topics while pushing others. This is why you often see the Russian media backing WTO/WB/IMF/etc policies to the hilt while never criticizing Israel or, God forbid, rabidly pro-Israel propagandists on mainstream TV (guys like Vladimir Soloviev, Evgenii Satanovsky, Iakov Kedmi, Avigdor Eskin and many others). This is the same media which will gladly criticize Iran and Hezbollah but never wonder why the Russian main TV stations are spewing pro-Israeli propaganda on a daily basis.

And, of course, they will all mantrically repeat the same chant: “there is no 5th column in Russia!! None!! Never!!”

This is no different than the paid for corporate media in the USA which denies the existence of a “deep state” or the US “Israel Lobby”.

And yet, many (most?) people in the USA and Russia realize at an almost gut-level that they are being lied to and that, in reality, a hostile power is ruling over them.

Putin’s options and possible outcomes

Sadly, in the USA, Trump proved to be a disaster who totally caved in to the Neocons and their demands. In Russia, the situation is far more complex. So far, Putin has very skillfully avoided associating himself with the Atlantic Integrationists. Furthermore, the biggest crises of the past decade or so were all associated with foreign policy issues and those are still controlled by the Eurasian Sovereignists. Finally, while the Russian government clearly committed some mistakes or promoted some unpopular policies (such has healthcare reform for example), they also had their undeniable successes. As for Putin, he continued to consolidate his power and he gradually removed some of the most notorious individuals from their positions. In theory, Putin could probably have most top Atlantic Integrationists arrested on corruption charges, but short of engaging in a massive and bloody purge, he cannot get rid of an entire social class which is not only large but powerful.

Some of my contacts in Russia expected a purge of Atlantic Integrationists right after the election. The logic here was “enough is enough” and that once Putin got a strong mandate from the people, he would finally kick Medvedev and his gang out of the Kremlin and replace them with popular patriots. That obviously did not happen. But if this pension reform program continues to further trigger protests or if a major war blows up in the Middle-East or in the Ukraine, then the pro-western forces inside the Kremlin will come under great pressure to further yield control of the country to Eurasian Sovereignists.

Putin is an exceedingly patient man and, at least so far, he has won most, if not all, of his battles. I don’t believe that anybody can predict for sure how things will play out, but what is certain is that trying to understand Russia without being aware of the internal conflicts and the interests groups fighting for power is futile. In her 1000 year long history, internal enemies have always been far more dangerous for Russia than external ones. This is unlikely to change in the future.

The Saker

The Essential Saker II: Civilizational Choices and Geopolitics / The Russian challenge to the hegemony of the AngloZionist Empire

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95 Comments

internal enemies have always been far more dangerous for Russia than external ones

This seems to be true in the United States also. The internal enemies (the deep state, the Ziocons) are far more dangerous than any external enemy except of course the Ziocons who reside outside the United States, for example, in Israel.

“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”

“The level of endorsement of the cabinet’s activities stands at 37.7% on the average”

“Support for the cabinet of ministers and the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev among the Russian public fell on the background of discussion of the cabinet’s initiative to increase retirement age in Russia, shows an opinion poll published by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center [VCIOM] on Friday…..”

Makes interesting reading on the % drops in popularity and increases in discontent. It seems the Medvedev Cabinet have found the achilles heel. The question now is whether Putin will allow this to become law or just watch from the sidelines as this Cabinet and the Duma pass this bill. I think back to what VVP stated before and during the recent telephone marathon that those in charge of the different state functions will be answerable to the people.

That’s really true. Russia’s immune system did faily work but America’s not at all. Today you see an exhausted country, an emaciated population, a rotten infrastructure, and a broken education system. Hopefully the US haven’t reached the point of no return yet otherwise this woundn’t be something good for the world. Russia seems to be a blueprint that there is a way out.

Putin, after the World Cup, will make some moves. His six year plan will be run into the ground by Medvedev and Kudrin, there is no doubt. Thus, Putin will have to be hands on or the dreams and goals he has for Russia and Russians will be scuttled.

He said he kept the liberals because they know the plans, are talented to make them succeed, regardless that they are against the plans he has enunciated.

He felt he would have to waste 2 years if he changed out the government with loyalists.
Well, he better start loading some pistols and waving them under the noses of these born traitors and see to it that 2018 is not wasted, not a minute.

Dmitri Rogozin has emphatically stated yesterday that he won’t put up with any diversions from his plans for the Space and Military organization he runs. Space science and weapons for space are imperatives for Russia. Putin has entrusted him with this task. It’s a corrupt sector. Rogozin needs to act fast.

I haven’t read any other leaders of sectors or departments or ministries lay down the law (Rogozin called his the Ten Commandments). But corruption has to be rooted out and a national program like a war footing effort must be instilled in society and government. Russia has little time and no excess of money to fool with subversive delays and resistance to Putin’s program.

We have seen great achievements like the Crimean Kerch Bridge, the World Cup stadia, Sochi and the brilliant military operations in Syria. These are excellent. But everyday business must now grind out the development and rise of Russia as a healthier, wealthier and number one nation in the things Russia can best achieve.

The ideological and social romance with the West, especially Europe, must end. It is like syphilis, a deadly consequence of a foolish relationship. Russia has everything it needs within its own civilization and peoples.
Just get it all done.

If Putin finds a good way to do this, I hope he shares it with the rest of the world.

It appears to be human nature than human societies will have this problem. If a society manages to keep its corruption from getting completely out of control, that gets scored as a major sucess.

It was interesting that while I have very different views from The Saker about religion, that my thoughts then went down the path that the only way a society has to conquer corruption is a strong moral force.

I’d have no hope in laws and government and police and courts in fighting corruption. They can serve their role, but only in a strong moral society. Its mainly going to be the strong personal belief that corruption is wrong that eliminates corruption. A society where no one tries to bribe or collect bribes because their belief in what’s right and what’s wrong says very clearly and loudly that corruption is very, very wrong.

In such a moral society, the laws and police and courts can then function when needed against what bit of corruption remains or which tempts people. But, in a society which worships the Golden Calf and where money is god and getting money can get you anything, then any attempts to have laws and police and courts against corruption will only find that the legislatures, officers and judges have all been bought.

The corrupt are a tiny percentage, very tiny. But they are in positions of power and influence, which inflates the impact of their crimes and immorality.

Think of how many co-workers or neighbors or friends and relatives you have had who were corrupt. Virtually none.

The world would cease operating and society would be chaos if any substantial number of people at every level and tier were corrupt.

These are high crimes by officials and wealthy, or the purely criminal, who are corrupt and corrupting.

So, nailing the culprits is not difficult. We know where to look, and how to trap them.
The consequences is the issue.

Rock the system too often, and faith in the nation and the government is broken.

Rock the system by nailing the hugely powerful is dangerous. They usually have means of protection and counter-attack.

China, in comparison, has massive corruption because of massive Party power and a massive society and levels of government historically remote from Central Government. But it fights corruption vigorously.

Russia needs a cleansing and stiffer penalties. Kadyrov has suggested confiscation of property (China takes everything from the corrupt, everything from their family, too).

The Russian justice system is too lenient. Putin too forgiving.

Russia needs a counterpart to Wang Qishan and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. He hunted down many hundreds of top officials, punishing probably thousands of corrupt from the CCP to the PLA. He spared no one. And punishment was draconian. He now serves as Vice President, but his impact will remain historic.

Corruption is a huge issue that is isolated to the powerful. It isn’t hard to discover. It’s hard to prosecute because of countervailing issues.

How you pull out the miscreants without pulling down the edifice is the problem.

Fundamentally, modern Russia seems to be born in sin. The powerful were criminals who either were involved in taking down the USSR or at least raping the barely alive victim when they had the chance. The much vaunted compromise that Putin has managed to keep going where the criminals agree to not destroy the country further in exchange for keeping their loot can only go so far in terms of building a country that will be strong in the new industrial era.

Good leadership can dramatically limit corruption, as we see in China today. For whatever reason, it doesn’t seem that Putin feels it wise to go after the criminals.

”The ideological and social romance with the West, especially Europe, must end. It is like syphilis, a deadly consequence of a foolish relationship. Russia has everything it needs within its own civilization and peoples.”

Couldn’t agree more. Faggotry, paedophilia, and neoliberal rot all along the line should remain the exceptional treasure known as ”European values” — hence another case in point to stress the non-Europeanness of Russia.

The Central Bank of Russia is privately owned by the ZioNazi Banksters of the West.
President Putin should take Nikolai Starikov’s advice: “Nationalize the Central Bank of Russia.”
This move would rid Russia of the Western Banksters’ manipulation (shorting) of the Ruble.
And the Russian State would issue its own debt-free sovereign money.
It would put the criminal bankster syndicate of the FED and BoE out of business in Russia.

most of the zio-banksters in Russia are in fact Putin”s hostages:rather keep them at arm”s length.for the time beeing their “QUEEN”has limited moves & Putin can “kill” her at a time of his choosing.relax,the president is in control of the game.and if,heaven forbid,they try the Kennedy option on him then the Services & the Military will intervene & wipe them out.then after Putin will look like Putin on steroids.

I prefer to believe that the naming of the cabinet, clear to stalwarts here, including a blatantly seditious bunch among them, is part of a plan; perhaps to minimize the possibility of a hostile militant disruption to the world cup (of kicking the ball around the field and putting on extreme displays of melodramatic flare when any of the opposing rivals come too near), by… terrorists sponsored by… you know who…da… likely the usual cabal.
This would also explain the blight at the Victory Day parade.

So, is extremely likely that VVP knows of the direction this lot will take, and has plans for mitigating them. After all, from what I gather here, the fifth column in Russia, is as little for the people and the nation of Russia as the fifth column in the U.S.A. is for the 99%.

So, if the premise of Putin doing his best for Russia and Russians is true, then he very likely has a plan; won’t make it too obvious (i.e. firing the lot after the last day of the world cup); he’ll likely arrange issues, and show them to the justice system one-by-one or in small clusters, taking out nests of them with the under-lackeys, who da which have an extensive pattern of administrative guerrilla tactics working inside humanity’s nation-state administrations (2500 years worth details a very, very strong and robust trend).

Unlike our host I am very skeptical about any anthropomorphic superior … essence, certainly one that cares obsessively about what the 3rd chimpanzee is doing down here on planet earth, but respect the views of others, who choose to believe such.
Therefore, I look to individuals and/or groups who can make a positive influence, resulting in positive outcomes, and currently VVP is one of the main guys.

… so … we’ll see.

Thanks for great comment Larch, and to our host on bringing the subject matter to the floor for discussion.

Anybody who plays chess can wonder “how many moves Putin and Trump and Ji Jingping” have in mind.
Trump meeting Putin is one of those moves while the liberals and opposing forces of government in countries not directly involved will feel the ripple effect.
Thanks Saker for a brief and eye-opening explanation of the “Russian Deep State”.
I can see how Trump and Putin can understand each other better and look at what Brussels and the NeoCon will wiggle to do.
I remain optimistic that Trump is using the whole scenario and knows more than anybody knows.
Trump’s connection with President Nixon is profound. Researches in that field should be followed…
LOVE and JOY,
the seagull with very broad vision…

Always delighted reading your comments. Most of the times they even eclipse the actual analysis published above the comments. Also your use of the English Language is instrumental. Even 24/7 west MSM pundits can’t use it with your precision and skill. I am wondering do you have some blog or social media platform where you publish/write?

This analysis is a disappointment and is a repeat of the previous analysis with very little addition.

What would be good is a broader and deeper analysis of the balance of power between the various blocs and their dynamics. Atlanticists vs. Eurasionists seems too simplistic and is inadequate. A few hints are given in this article but it only highlights the inadequacy of the explanation.

Not sure whether the reference to shedding blood was meant literally or metaphorically but if it was meant to be taken literally it is a sad reflection on the state of politics in the RF. It does not give much hope for the future.

The Saker has done much to improve my (and others too, no doubt) understanding of Russian history, culture, politics and current affairs which I appreciate very much. Looking forward to more.

It is not simplistic but simple. There are two main gopolitical power blocs, they could roughly be called West and East. The west with the old British Empire managed to control and plunder much of the East, now the East is awakening, Russia is an Asian country, the largest of them all, that is why the Chinese with their OBOR integration project and Russia building gas piplelines to Europe are on the same page: Eurasian integrationists

There is no Europe, that’s just the North Western extension of Asia, so better term to call the people of so called Europe is north-west Asians. Europe doesn’t logically meet any geographical requirements to call it a continent, there are only six of them Asia(including Europe), Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica.

,,There’s no Europe, that’s just…”
Really? Ok, this depends on your point of view.
Geografically, it might be difficult to define precisely the ,,borders” of Europe, indeed.
But in most cases Europe isn’t meant geografically but culturally or politcally though Europe isn’t homogenous at all. This is why is’t quite difficult to negociate with ,,Europe” cause you hear many different voices. But for sure there something which minted Europe completely. This is the Occidential culture with its philosophy, arts, arcitecture, science and technology. The competition of the different nations in this part of the world – close to each other – had an stimulating effect and resulted in a steep increase of civilization development.

Boris, I recommend you look back through the archives for comments and threads by Were-wolf, to take another perspective on the global power groups.
I’m not saying those theories are exactly so, I’m just suggesting that the surface perceptions may not reflect the 9/10ths under the surface.

I agree. The premise of the article is to take facts at the most simple face value rather than to try and place small cogs in the much larger machinery of geopolitics.

So Russia has the equivalent media organization to the daily mail, or an RT here in the UK. The first is owned by a well known globalist Jew, and yet was the principle media champion of Brexit. And yes, RT is a foreign controlled entity working exceedingly hard and intelligently against western power politics. And here in the UK we have a good number of politicians, including the leader of the opposition and likely next PM, given free voice who are openly pro Russia and anti USA against the majority of political old school crush-Russia Troy consensus.

Am I to assume, along with the author, that these simple facts translate into a mounting Russian coup in the UK, or that Murdoch for one minute cared whether the UK was swamped by mass immigration? Is that all I can draw from fact like this? Or should I assume that Murdoch is playing a bigger game, or that in spite of a great deal of political coercion, we have some free thinkers openly expressing themselves in UK politics.

I hear from Russian commentators such as this article and US born Russophiles like Larchometer etc US-style paranoia about things that are actually natural parts of a living democracy. Putin has opposition. Well, what the hell do you expect? 100% alignment. Why label opposition as a fifth column?

A non-paranoid interpretation of the fact that a state owned company in turn owns the most vocal anti-Putin media outlet is that it is best to have the government’s hand on the cash spigot into a dangerous entity. If there are going to be attempts at undermining Putin, best keep control well in hand.

Speaking to Russian emigre’s here in the UK, I have found without exception that one Russian characteristic is that they are vocally disloyal to their homeland and doubt her and every level of their government as being a pile of intrigue and corruption, and that everywhere else is better. It is the scar they carry from the 20th century, I guess. On the other hand I know very few Brits who have not, at some point in their family history, or in their own lives, or extended family, found themselves utterly let down, impoverished by our pile of shite, self serving, vain glorious, warmongering, aloof, disgraceful political class. But these same people will call you and arse and turn their back on you if you insult their country to their face.

In this article there is on show both these Russian characteristics – doubt and open paranoia about something that is absolutely standard in every western nation and this leading to open criticism of a political class that is clearly becoming a force in world affairs.

Putin’s main job in this ‘last’ term is to make Russians believe in their country again, believe in themselves again, to undo the deep psychological damage and disbelief that the 20th century has done to them, and for them to recognise that politics necessarily includes opposition and that his does not need to lead to a pogrom.

I know you don’t like sport, saker, but look at the world cup. Putin’s whole team, including his whole team from top to bottom, is not only putting Russia on the map,they are making Russians proud of what they can achieve, of their decency and ability in the whole infrastructure of the thing. This kind of article, full of the doubt, anxiety, paranoia and division typified by the past soviet era and of modern America, needs the counterpoint of some joy and wonder at the re-awakening of this remarkable and long suffering people.

Thank you for the article Saker.
I agree with your thoughts in regards to the manner in which the Russian 5th column undermine both the patriotic leader, Putin, and the country itself.

I would extrapolate what your have touched on here to other countries.

Take China for instance. It seems that President Xi is a patriotic leader. I have read many articles about how lovely everything is in China from Jeff Brown, but I wonder what all those Chinese billionaires want to do with their wealth and power.

As a comparison, look at the other non western countries. Brazil’s patriots were devoured. South Africa just had a regime change. India, well Modi may or may not be affiliated directly with the Israelis, but most of the major parties are influenced by America, Israel or Saudi.

At least Russia has a strong patriotic element centred around th security services in charge. At least.

One wonders how corruption alone could lead to such western domination of the world.
But this is how the world was conquered to begin with.
The West, the imperial west (not normal western people who also victims, especially in their minds) has thrived on corruption as the primary tool of conquest. They did not win wars, they used corruption.

Putin is building a new Russian people, or an old one, with their true cultural spirit merged with high technology. I hope he succeeds. And we all wait for the purge that must surely come. How can all those special people and special tribe be allowed to lord over Russians wealth they stole from mother Russia. How can that tally with what Putin is building. It does. Or make sense. Thus a point will be reached. Eventually. Perhaps?

Well I hope Ruslan is able to come back to us with the results of any interviews with Gazprom Media holdings…or asking questions at board meetings….meeting echo moscow creditors….initiating bankruptcy procedures ….etc etc…

“But if we look just below the level of these well-known and notorious oligarchs, what we find as a much deeper “swamp” (to use the US expression): an entire class of people who made their fortunes in the 1990s, who are now extremely influential and control most of the key positions in the economy, finance and business and who absolutely hate and fear Putin. They even have their agents inside the armed forces and security services because their weapon of choice is, of course, corruption and influence. And, of course, they have people representing their interests inside the Russian government: pretty much the entire “economic block” of the Medvedev government.”

Sorry, but this reminds me so much of the old John Birch Society in America in the 50s and 60s – “The entire country has been taken over by Communists. They are everywhere! And they are all-powerful!” Where is the proof of all this underlying power? Surely if they had this much power and influence in so many places, their force would be considerable and their influence significant and measurable. But I see no evidence of that in this analysis – lots of accusations, but little evidence.

OK, evil people exist and they are constantly working to their own ends. This we can agree. But what I can’t see is that their efforts are having any real effect in Russia today, either in its foreign policies or its domestic ones. Indeed, one of the major architects of these evil designs now finds himself sitting behind a desk in a small, remote office and has to concern himself with auditing standards and making certain that government funding is being spent as intended. Not exactly a platform for power. And I am still not convinced that Medvedev is as evil as people think – his words and actions in recent years testify more to an awakening to the true intentions of the West. Weak, perhaps, but of evil intent? Give me evidence, please.

And destroy Putin??? Give me a break. Think about what is being said here. If this was said 5 or 10 years ago, I might understand. But today? This is Putin’s last term of office – so they only have to wait a few years. So that means that “destroying him” would have to mean removing him from office today. With Putin’s enormous support from the people and the military, I see this as little more than a liberal’s wet dream.

Yes, Putin has enemies. But are they powerful? Are they pervasive? Or are they little more than a power-hungry tiny minority with neither real power or significant influence? But give me evidence to the contrary, and I will be more than happy to re-think the issue.

One thing I will concede, however, is that Putin needs to be thinking about his ultimate replacement. Much of his legacy depends on the continuity of his foreign and domestic policy reforms. If he is to be replaced with another Yeltsin, then WTF was it all for, these 20 years? In my opinion the true test of the Saker’s analysis will be in how Russia replaces Putin. That should tell us everything about the true ultimate power and influence of this “Russian Deep State”, should it not? In the meantime, I am not advising my Russian friends to be looking under the bed for liberals poised to strangle them in their sleep.

Such emphatic statements (without a shred of evidence) to contradict the analysis presented in the article. Please, do tell of your extensive research into the inner workings of the Russian government and media. Can you disprove the reality of foreign trained “liberal journalists”, who dominate Russian media. Or are your statements simply a reaction to hard realities that do not conform to your uncultivated perception?

To liken the Saker’s reasoned analysis to the “Red Scare” is truly bombastic and bereft of any real attempt to comprehend what is being addressed. What, you never saw photos of Roosevelt’s Hammer and sickle monogrammed wheel chair? Damn that photoshop. Maybe if Medvedev and the other 5th columnists would be willing to pin the Union Jack or the Stars and Stripes, to their lapels, it might give you pause?

There’s no need to check under beds. Just continue grazing my friend, that’s why they love you guys.

If you care to look at what I said rather than being offended that I perhaps disagree with the Saker’s analysis (we can not disagree anymore?), you will see the statement by the Saker I quoted is quite extreme – “they” are “everywhere”. Maybe they are everywhere. Maybe they hate and despise Putin. Maybe they are pervasive and powerful forces within the Deep State. But where is the evidence of this power and influence? A few covertly sponsored NGOs and media outlets? Those exist everywhere. The real question is how influential are they? And I have seen little evidence to show that they are anything but wannabe power-brokers in Russia. But I am open to proof. It is the Saker who made the statement – perhaps it is up to him to provide evidence of its accuracy? That’s all I am asking here. Or are we in a situation now where those who are require to furnish evidence but the Saker’s word is to be taken without question? I hope not.

I do hope that you are not saying that only your leader the Saker has the inner knowledge, no one else. Only he (and his enlightened community of followers, of course) can connect the dots. And that those questioning the analyses are the uninitiated, the ignorant masses, grazing peacefully and blissfully whilst the world about them falls under the iron grip of global communism.

Perhaps I was bit too snarky, apologies. I certainly welcome constructive discourse. It’s always healthy. Especially when positions are respectfully presented. I would only ask that you consider the manner in which you challenged the Saker’s analysis.

No dear leader complex here, sorry to disappoint. Just a big believer in respecting a man in his own home. Wise to remember we are guests, graciously invited. With that said, Challenge away, good sir.

Nowhere did I see hyperbole in the Saker’s analysis. These were important and very relevant “dots” . Have you honestly not heard the considerable public outrage over the new pension reforms? It was never stated that the citizens will suddenly turn on Putin. It has already correlated in a small drop in Putin’s overwhelming popularity. Btw, I would think that controlling the central bank (money supply) and some of Russia’s largest companies would easily classify as “Proof” enough for anyone.

The Saker sums it up when he says “In her 1000 year long history, internal enemies have always been far more dangerous for Russia than external ones. This is unlikely to change in the future.”

What made Stalin so unique was that he understood the threat, though he too made serious errors. In the end, it is unlikely that Russia, which was so unsuccessful in WWI, to the extent of the army mutinying, could have defeated Germany, secretly backed by the West, without his leadership. I am finding that many people especially older Russians are taking this point of view.

subhuti,
I want to comment on one thing, where you said Russia being unsuccessful in WWI. Not that it was un or successful. It was forced to deal with two “revolutions” first in 1905 (conducted by the oligarchs) which was followed by the one in 1917. What happened: Lenin’s agitators convinced the soldiers to stop fighting the external war and turn against the tsar, who was blamed for all the ailments in the Russian life. Next he signed some unfavorable treaties with external forces. This gave him the freedom to overturn Tsarist Russia into Red Russia.

Wait a moment. When Lenin’s agitators convinced the soldiers as you put it, there was no tsar anymore nor empire, the tsar and his appointed successor – his brother, abdicated long before that and there was Kerenski’s government led republic. Or republics and princedoms. Bolshevics had to unite falling apart country piece by piece.

OK, my apologies. The tsar was very likely under house arrest at that time, or maybe dead already. I was never lover of any monarchic system, even though Tsar Nikolai was married to the so called “Greek” princess, was her name Anastasia (like my grandmother’s)? I am not going to bother checking the wikipedia. BTW, didn’t the two systems continue to battle until about 1922? Also, didn’t Polish marshal and the President Piłsudski attack Russia at roughly that time and forced Lenin to sign yet another unfavorable for the Russia land surrender agreement? This would be four years after the end of WWI. So to finalize, the business of WWI, Russia was in turmoil since 1905 to well past the 1922. This would be a good example of the Saker’s subject here, the Fifth Column in action.
As for the bolsheviks uniting the republics, many years ago I would agree with you, but not today. Russia was always non-federal Monarchy, and it was the commies who, under the guise of “brotherly love” created the Republics. This was supposed to stop the internal conflicts and wars, which it sort of did, but it split brotherly people (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) and caused a lot of bloodshed today (I am including Chechnia and Dagestan here and of course NovoRossia).
We can see the results of this brotherly love in all of Europe today.

I have mixed feelings about this article, and for the following reasons:

In the US there are a number of excellent analysts, whose conclusions about Washington’s and NATO’s policies towards Russia have proved to be accurate. However, when it comes to analyzing the internal situation in Russia and the policies of the Russian Government, these analysts can make misleading conclusions, being prone to exaggerations, as they do not live in Russia and rely on questionable sources. For example, one well known analyst has stated that if the Russian Government did not eradicate the influence of NGO’s, it would end up with a color revolution. Well, NGO’s led by Soros did try that, failing pathetically. That well known analyst forgot to mention that the Russian Government has expelled quite a number of subversive NGO’s, although personally I feel that it should expelled every single one of them.

When it comes to Medvedev, I am puzzled why so much attention has been given to him after Putin won the elections. Medvedev has been dominant in politics as long as Putin, and he has been Putin’s chief ally. He also heads the United Russia political party, the largest in the country, with most MP’s in the Duma.

When it comes to liberals in Russia, I notice contradictions in The Saker’s conclusions. Last year The Saker wrote an excellent article on Russia, stating that the influence of the liberals was diminishing, which is not surprising bearing in mind people cannot forget what happened during Yeltsin’s reign, when the country was plundered of 100 billion dollars a year. Also, people are watching the economic and social situation in Ukraine, where oligarchs and foreign corporations are plundering the country as they did Russia in the 1990’s. Who wants a return to that ? Certainly not the bulk of the population. However, in this article I see that the liberals are very much alive and active. Of course they are. However, are we to conclude that all of a sudden they obtained additional power and influence, and if so, how ?

Putin is the President of Russia. He has behind him civilian and military intelligence agencies, who certainly give him all the information he needs, not to mention information and opinions given to him by patriotic Russians, like Alexander Dugin. He must know what is going on and what he has to do. He has almost six years to make the right moves. Does the US have six years to solve it’s gigantic foreign and domestic debt ? Can it go on printing huge amounts of dollars backed by nothing, when even American analysts are stating that the US is either looking into a “soft” political civil war, or into a “hot” internal military confrontation ?

Yes, the neocons in the US are making plans for the post-Putin period in Russia, preparing a new Yeltsin. Well, they will have to wait almost six years, and time is not on their side.

Finally, when it comes to Zhirinovskii, this website has called him both a “clown” and “court jester”. I have to disagree most strongly. Zhirinovskii is no “clown” or “court jester”. His influence in Russian society and political establishment is immense. He openly states what other politicians dare not, or if they do say it, they do it somewhat “diplomatically”. Yes, he uses coarse language, but he get’s the message through. He is as dangerous to Russian liberals as Putin is, perhaps more so. He is also the leader of the LDPR and has MP’s in the Duma.

I think we can conclude that Putin knows what he is doing and that time is on his side. As one Russian reader has commented, Russia is concentrating on it’s infrastructure, building up the country and eradicating corruption. This is done in an elegant way.

The yield curve is “Normal” but getting flatter. At the stock market tops in 2000 and 2007 you can see that the yield curve was “Flat” or “Inverted”. The excess debt can, can only be kicked down the road so before Financial Crisis Part 2 occurs.

It’s a waiting game. Capitalism will collapse in both the US and Europe, then Russia will be on top as both will need Russia. The economy is doing “well” now because of the $trillion dollar “stimulus” the government gave the banks, so the banks invested in the military industrial complex. But you can see the end coming. The national debt is what is all that is keeping Trump afloat. And what happens when the thousands of billions in bills come due? Buy gold or silver. Our paper money will be worthless.

Regardless true or not, your post is not relevant to the topic. The issue is regarding a fifth column in Russia.

Fifth columns thrive in both boom and bust, and surge to even greater control during chaos or collapse; Russia was proof of that. If the west does collapse, as you state, then they still have their military, and a desperate population more conducive to follow orders.

Meanwhile, a collapse in the west, regardless whether it improves or impairs Russia itself, will do nothing to dislodge Russia’s own fifth column.

The fifth column is why many of us have doubts about what Russia would have or should have done in places like Georgia, the Baltic states, or the Ukraine. If the pro-Western oligarchs are this powerful when it comes to business, finance, media, and education, then wouldn’t they have influenced policy towards the Ukraine over the last twenty years? Wouldn’t this have limited what the Eurasianists were able to achieve? We can’t really know what Putin wanted to do, we just know what happened.

I don’t pretend to know what Moscow should have done regarding events in places like Georgia over the last twenty years, but it seems totally logical that what actually happened was a compromise between the pro-Western groups and the Eurasianists.

thank you dear Saker, much appreciated as always, this analysis is a crucial insight at a vital moment in time, something that we have found nowhere else, many more prayers for mr Prez tonight, I have a faith that he is a blessing sent to Russia from God & this does not mean he will never fail, maybe he has done what was needed but prayer can only help matters,
so once again many thanks for your insights into the darker side of our beloved Russia

In these times nobody knows what lies ahead in the near future. In many ways the human race is at a cross roads.

If I was forced to guess and based on the writings of people whose credibility and moral values align with the multipolar/human effort I’d say that the collapse of the US regime and the subsequent end of Israel will fragment the old world order and give impetus to the struggles of people across the globe for some control over their governments and self determination.

These Russian 5th columnists are taking their orders from somewhere but what if that “somewhere” no longer exists?

I also think that trans national corporations should be abolished and broken into small pieces under the control of governments unlike today where the west has become corporate controlled Zionist fascist with an above-the-law “elite” whose religion is Satanism and pedophilia.

I am not disheartened by this article. The Zionists only have support because they can bribe people.

Chris Hedges writes –

“However, the next financial crash, as Prins points out in her book “Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World,” won’t be like the last one. This is because, as she says, “there is no Plan B.” Interest rates can’t go any lower. There has been no growth in the real economy. The next time, there will be no way out. Once the economy crashes and the rage across the country explodes into a firestorm, the political freaks will appear, ones that will make Trump look sagacious and benign”.

and

“All the harbingers of collapse are visible: crumbling infrastructure; chronic underemployment and unemployment; the indiscriminate use of lethal force by police; political paralysis and stagnation; an economy built on the scaffolding of debt; nihilistic mass shootings in schools, universities, workplaces, malls, concert venues and movie theaters; opioid overdoses that kill some 64,000 people a year; an epidemic of suicides; unsustainable military expansion; gambling as a desperate tool of economic development and government revenue; the capture of power by a tiny, corrupt clique; censorship; the physical diminishing of public institutions ranging from schools and libraries to courts and medical facilities; the incessant bombardment by electronic hallucinations to divert us from the depressing sight that has become America and keep us trapped in illusions.”

The multi polar world is coming – the death of the USA will be it’s moment to fully begin life as countries freed from the terror of the bully find their own voices.

And Israel which controls the US?

Mathew Jamison writes –

” it is the Israeli State and Israeli Government that is actually in full command of all the levers of American power. It is the Israeli dog that wags the American tail. It is high time now for some fundamental truths and hard realities to be spoken.”
Noting Kissinger’s assertion ” that the State of Israel will be finished in its current incarnation by 2022 either through an internal reconfiguration or an external cataclysmic event. For Israel the writing really is on the wall,”

He concludes –

“The days when America/Israel could rule the world are long gone. America is not now even perhaps 3rd in the top tier of 21st century Great Global Superpowers. The third place could be the USA or it might be the EU. One thing is for sure if the USA wants to occupy the 3rd place within the ranks of the 21st century Great Global Powers it will have to give up and jettison its addiction to Israel.
As for Israel it is finished one way or the other.”

So the question is, who will fund and direct all these 5th columnists in Russia once their HQs in Tel Aviv and Washington are gone?

Putin needs only to hold on because it looks very much like world changing events are approaching very fast.
Russia will still be around tomorrow and the next day and we may yet see it’s traitors in a courtroom once their backers are gone.

America has clearly shown the world that at most a nation only needs 3 or 4 bankers to run the nation. I suspect there is some radical Ivy league academic trying to prove that a nation can be run by only 1 banker.

Can’t imagine what it must have cost to feed and care for 7 bankers. Seven!!! Even 1 banker can consume the output of an entire middel-sized nation. No wonder Russia went bankrupt.

Pray for Vladimir Putin to continue his stand for world peace. Do not do anything to weaken his position, or make people doubt him. Our world desperately needs him to succeed, in order for all of us to survive this very dangerous period of US Empire collapse

Without having the means to investigate the internal politics of Russia thoroughly first hand, the account sketched out here certainly seems plausible and realistic…certainly far more so than bizarre notions one hears elsewhere…such as Israel Shamir’s goofy hypothesis that Putin is hemmed in by some kind of ‘secret deal’ reached back in 1990s to make possible his rise to power…[incidentally ‘Yoda’ Shamir has never bothered to expand or explain this ‘thesis’ beyond simply repeating it as fact…]

There is one thing that comes to mind as a possible alternative to the ‘bloody’ purge scenario outlined…why has Putin and the patriotic side never sought to grow an alternative power base in the economic and money sphere…here is what I mean…if the situation is such as described here where there is a very large and powerful layer just beneath the visible oligarch class…and this layer has power due to its control of a great proportion of the nation’s wealth, and is further inclined towards the Atlanticist side…[and all of this sounds eminently reasonable and realistic]…then there are two ways to counter this…

One is the purge of the ‘Augean stables’ which is the direct confrontation…and the other is to displace this class by growing organically a prosperous class that is Eurasianist…

The second approach has never been attempted, due I believe to the fact that the control of Russia’s money is in the hands of the foreign-controlled central bank…

Here is how I could see such a growth process taking shape…with sovereign control of its national money, a growth spurt building on the already strong foundation of intellectual capital in areas like aerospace and other sciences…would bring up a new class of industrial titans that have no connection to the vulture capitalism of the class in place now…this would be something like the Stolypin ‘initiatives’ of the late imperial era…where making loans freely available to industrious individuals and enterprises would raise the entire economy and living standards…

In this scenario, it would also achieve the aim of creating a new prosperous class that would displace the rot in place now…

Putin has had the chance to do this for at least a decade now…he has been riding on the shoulders of the people like a hero for a long time…there is a lot of political capital in public popularity…but he has never taken advantage of that power to take control of Russia’s central bank…

Russia has been slogging along like Prometheus chained to his rock…while China, with far less of an intellectual base to build on, has taken off on wings of prosperity…and building an entirely new class of industrial and economic titans who are deeply invested in the united political and social aims of the nation…

This is the big question for me and has been all these years…is it perhaps the case that Putin himself would have liked to move in such a direction, but simply felt it was not possible…?…there is no way to know…but time is running out I would say…that destructive central bank and the completely idiotic policy of Russia’s vast intellectual inheritance being chained to a rock is painful to watch…

I think rule number one should be to not rely on loans. Taking out loans means that you have to put up with the conditions set forth in the loan agreements. Taking out commercial loans means that on every occasion the loan is not served in due time, the creditor gains extra power over the business. In two words: loans corrupt.

From that viewpoint, the central bank is as useless as any other bank as they shall not be given the chance to lever power over new truly sovereign businesses.

What else then?

In my opinion, the best way to start business is to put together the required money among the founders and employees of the company. Headaches only start if this is impossible due to the overwhelming upfront investment in infrastructure, technology and/or research.

In order to expand an existing enterprise, or to start a new one, requires capital…ie money…you need to hire people, buy machines and equipment, etc…

The problem as I see it now is that the Russian banking and finance policy is that this capital MUST come from offshore…this is insane…I submit here the proof that this is so, for the simple fact that the central bank’s interest rate is held at about 10 percent…why so high…?…the only possible reason is because high rates are designed to draw in foreign money with the attractive rate of return…

This is the proof right there…if you wanted to create money to grow the economy you would make that money available cheaply…this is the exact opposite…

Loans and credit are not necessarily bad by definition…especially when it comes to industry and manufacturing…because the cascade effects end up growing the productive economy by a far greater amount than the credit that was originally created…

Here is a perfect example which I have already spoken of here on this site…the Russian civil aviation industry accounted for one third of global output in the late 1980s…the industry was a powerhouse in terms of intellectual capital, innovation, manufacturing capabilities, service and support etc…

Today this vital industry…which incidentally is one of the cornerstones of the West’s prosperity…is for all purposes nonexistent in Russia…and has been for nearly three decades…

The only ingredient that is lacking is money…Russia has the intellectual and academic infrastructure [Russia graduates twice as many engineers as the US today]…yet it is in danger of falling behind even China which is starting from scratch in terms of intellectual capability…

This is catastrophic…a policy that says ONLY foreign money can be used to power a vital and strategic national industry is simply treasonous…this is a perfect example of how the fifth column continues to undermine and sabotage Russia’s potential as a world leader in vital high technology areas…a book could be written on this subject alone…

Now it’s important to note that I make a sharp distinction between making credit available for productive purposes…and the Western finance Ponzi scheme whereby credit is used as a parasitic tool to create a debt slave class of people…the two are completely opposite…the former will multiply the benefits throughout society, while the latter is one that is extractive and unsustainable and leads to eventual collapse…

Paul Craig Roberts, who is very astute on these matters, has been harping on this for well over a decade…he is completely right…Prof Michael Hudson is another one with the exact same prescription…there is no debate here…it is completely inexplicable why this state of affairs is allowed to continue in Russia…

I had mentioned Stolypin and this is because his scheme, the way I understand it, involved making credit available directly from the government, in the form of ‘Stolypin bonds’ and bypassing the banking system altogether…even if Putin does not want to take on the entrenched central bank and fifth columnists, the point is that there is a way to to do an end run around them…and they could do nothing about such a scheme…

Here is a good piece on this very subject from William Engdahl, another very astute Russia observer…

In the long run, such a govt helping hand that is OUTSIDE the control of the rotten elite will have the salutary effect of growing a NEW economic power base that would eventually eclipse the ‘swamp’ that is in place now…[and I do agree with this author’s use of this terminology…I think it is very accurate]

As I see it, a lot of people take out a loan to buy a house. Do you think that these people will speak up against the mainstream once their very private financial existences are conditioned on the continuation of their loans until full refund? Experience shows that people get tame once they have to serve IOU’s.

The idea of government bonds may take this corruption into account. If the government supports upfront investments and forgoes refund, for instance accounting public gains as refund, it could indeed start a new economy. It would be reasonable and less risky for society to warrant the basic needs of every member for free. In this case, there is no need for a large upfront investment as the people could work without income for the time required to ramp up earnings from regular sales.

I agree with you about the example of buying a house…this is a perfect example of Ponzi capitalism…

But this issue should be separated from the issue of a government injecting money into economic recovery…the reason is that the right to housing is a basic human right…the fact that the Western Ponzi system has made home ownership a means of enslaving the population for life, so that the creditor class can leech off them forever, is of course completely wrong and will ultimately end in disaster as all Ponzi schemes do…

Even Hitler provided for German workers to have their own home [quality and new built according to standards], which would be paid off in no more than ten years, and with no more than a quarter of ONE household worker’s income going to debt payment…each child born would erase 25 percent of the debt…four children and the house is yours…

And that’s from Hitler for crying out loud…this is a historical fact…Henry Ford was guided by the same principle…his golden rule was to make the car affordable so his assembly line workers could buy one…otherwise, who would…?

Now again…this is a completely different kettle of fish than the government intervening to rebuild a ruined economy…the article I linked to above talks intelligently about the successful examples of postwar Germany, France and South Korea doing exactly this…with great success…Germany then repeated this after absorbing the East in 1990…

So this kind of plan is nothing new and is completely proven and sensible…to quote Mr Engdahl…

‘…Objectively, today Russia possesses everything she needs to become an economically prosperous world economic giant and technology pacesetter in addition to her already made decision to become world leading agriculture exporter of GMO-free, natural agriculture…’

Well-educated, healthy children are critical to the survival of a nation if it is to compete in the multi-polar world. I look forward to an essay on the Russian primary education system, specifically pre-college studies. No doubt there is a great focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) but what about political ideology, economics, global history, language studies, religion, the arts, diet, nutrition, physical exercise, etc?

What do the Russian youth think of their future or have they become too “westernized” with self-aggrandizement, materialism and gluttony like the U.S.?

Excellent questions regarding the Russian educational system. I too would love to see a post that addresses the historical, social and spiritual elements comprising the education of Russian youth. While a strong foundation in math and the sciences is critical to the success of future generations, It means little to a nation if these tools are not cultivated by a principled populace

There is no surprise. The present days Russian power system is an evolution, a very smart evolution, of that of Yeltsin times; not a completely different and opposite thing. They have criticized and disowned USSR but they have never criticized or disowned Yeltsin. The official statement of Russian Govt. is that the West is a partner; and that is. Sometimes happen to argue with partners. So that the russian media are pro western is not a “mistake” or by chance, or a thing like I-don’t-want-but-I-must,: it’s a choice. A strategic choice and it’s in the nature of what Russia is now.

As they say, nothing succeeds like success, and Putin has been very successful by any measure. This success put him in a position of strength, at least from direct attack.

His opponents are thus relegated to attacking on the periphery. This is manageable and could be seen as, while not optimal, something that could be turned into an advantage to a man such as Putin, who sees the 65th square.

If Trump puts on his listening ears when he meets Putin next month, he could pick up a few very useful tips.

“foreign policy issues and those are still controlled by the Eurasian Sovereignists”
“he would finally kick Medvedev and his gang out of the Kremlin and replace them with popular patriots. That obviously did not happen. But if this pension reform program continues to further trigger protests or if a major war blows up in the Middle-East or in the Ukraine, then the pro-western forces inside the Kremlin will come under great pressure to further yield control of the country to Eurasian Sovereignists”
“Putin is an exceedingly patient man”
Conflicting statements in my opinion. You are saying that because Putin is so patient he did not replace the hardcore Atlanticists like Medyedev even though he is at peak of his popularity, but may do so if going gets tough.
I don’t think there is a need to find excuses for Putin. Putin is and was always the same man. I don’t think he has and had a problem with western powers (so called Atlanticist) and I don’t think the EuroAsianists were really that effective all along. The final move by Putin was a gentle putsch after the elections to clean up the remnants. Remember that his best KGB friend Ivanov was gone long time ago. Lately even A.Dugin called Putin the biggest liberal in an RT interview. Liberalism is a thing of the west and EuroAsianists cannot stand it. I personally believe that there are true patriots who believe that an Integration with Euroasia and China would be the solution for Russia, but I don’t think Putin is one of them. I don’t think that the EuroAsianist circles yield much power in Russian politics either. It seems that there is lots of corruption in Russian state establishments and powerful oligarchic circles are quite good in buying corrupt officials, quite similar to elsewhere. Putin is a pragmatic leader but follows realities and the money trail rather than ideology. His actions so far proves it IMO. I think Putin is neither a Saint nor a Saviour of Humanity nor an idealist like Che or Chavez. He survived so far for a good and simple reason. It is called pragmatism and getting along with influential western power circles. I can’t find any other logical explanation.
I think Putin honestly believes that Russia can only survive in its current form and shape, if he gets along with the powerful oligarchic western powers by being part of them. Integration with EuroAsia (means more or less China) is a pipe dream IMO, which is nevertheless quite popular in Alt-Med circles.

“I think Putin is neither a Saint nor a Saviour of Humanity nor an idealist like Che or Chavez. He survived so far for a good and simple reason. It is called pragmatism and getting along with influential western power circles. I can’t find any other logical explanation.”
Right there I think you summed up who is Mr. Putin. His education by the intelligence services (cold rationalizing mind) were just the ticket for what Russia needed. Russians should be going to their Churches and thanking the Powers Above for this gift of steadiness. Clinton never fooled me during his “get togethers” with Yeltsin. They were stringing along Boris to the slaughter house but Boris pulled the Trump Card and fooled them. Was that by design or just luck I have no idea.

Epithet
Brilliant response, what such folks do not realise is that evil spread mostly due to lack of ability to be objective when faced with reality regardless of how you want things to be, which is exactly the message Saker is trying to pass.
In fact, I fear such people more than the empire because with the empire you have an open enemy which must be confronted, while with such people they are extremely difficult to wane off their dream state without shedding their blood.
This creates ammo for the enemy to divide and conquer our ranks. With such friends, honestly who need enemy.

”internal enemies have always been far more dangerous for Russia than external ones”

On the face of it, there seems to be substance to this claim. Thinking about it, however, it becomes very clear that as soon as Russia’s external enemies are in for a resounding defeat, their people inside Russia will become powerless, hence neutralized. After all, Russian Liberals and their Oligarchic backers cannot be troubled even for a second with the issue of how to improve Russia’s social fabric — not even the issue of their own part in it. Indeed, as far as Russia is concerned, her enemy within is easily spotted as plain greedy nihilists, itching for committing High Treason as long as it pays off handsomely. The corollary is quite amusing: If, say, China were to out-bribe the West when approaching this Russian stratum of society, that would have a good chance of achieving the same outcome as the significantly riskier solution with emphasis on heavy coercion — the neutralization of the West’s 5th column in Russia.

Hence, it’s the threat from the outer enemy which has to be addressed in no uncertain terms. The enemy without — especially in Russia’s case — has all the ideological fanaticism and determination to see genocide, even omnicide, as the acceptable solution to the perceived problem. And a good suggestion as to what might prove successful would be for Russia to wage full-scale media war driving home the message about the West’s bankruptcy all along the line.

Ann
I always admire your response which shows spiritual and moral openness to always digest things the way they are.
We should love and defend our values no doubt, but when those who are the leading guardian of that values digress we should not hesitate to embrace constructive criticism from the co-followers who are doing the divine duty of calling a spade a spade.
Fallibility is our nature, so hero worshipping which rest on bigoted believe that ‘he will a always do the right thing’ is not just contrary to man’s nature but mortally dangerous to the course of humanity.

A very interesting analysis and video as well. This story about Ekho Moskvy goes much deeper.. In fact the Russian state has tried several times to arrest it’s founder and take control of the assets.

-Echo Moskvy was previously 1/3 owned by a US company called EM holding which belonged to an Israeli called Vladimir Gusinksy, who incidentally was the founder of the Russian Jewish Congress and VP of the World Jewish Congress.

-In 2015, a law was passed by the Duma that forbidding foreign citizens to own more than 20% of shares in national media., so to bypass this law they simply created a shell company in Russia to which they transferred 13.3% of the shares while the US EM holding still owned 20%.

-In 2000, Gusinksy was arrested in Russia, and in exchange for his freedom, the Kremlin requested that he sell his shares in his “Media Most” holding. A buyer was organised by the Kremlin: Gazprom. The price of the shares was fixed. Gusinsky sold and then left Russia for good.

-When Gazprom became shareholder of 12.5% of Media Most and 30% of NTV they launched judiciary action against Gusinksy when they discovered financial irregularities in these companies. An international arrest warrant was issued but Interpol refused to comply because they deemed that it was politically motivated.

-After several attempt to arrest Gusinksy in Spain and in Greece, Gusinlsky countersued in the The European Court of Human Rights and this court found Russia guilty for political persecution against Gusinksy.

As you can see, far from tolerating them, Russia has tried for several years to bring these people to justice and cleaning up the mess they left behind. I found this info on wikipedia. If anyone has any other info on this let us know!

” In fact the Russian state has tried several times to arrest it’s founder and take control of the assets (…) Russia has tried for several years to bring these people to justice and cleaning up the mess they left behind”

And that is exactly the point: there is no unitary “Russian state” or “Russia” but FACTIONS INSIDE the Russian state which have been fighting each other for at least 20 years (and really more) even if the factions have evolved over the years.
Cheers,
The Saker

Mr. Saker,
I am very much surprised you didnt examine thouroghly the record of Medvedev as president of Russian Federation. You would have found he backed bombing of Lybia by Obama,Sarkozy and Cameron-, by publicly warning Ghadafy and his followers that they, not only- cannt expect anything from RF, but shouldnt even think of asylum in Russia!
Since you are the only one (beside me!) who has doubts about agenda of this man, wouldnt it be interesting to make some research over this!

The Russians have been fighting foreign and internal aggressors for more than 1000 years now and if after all this time they still haven’ t learned the drill, well, that will be their loss, their funeral. (BTW, I have never trusted Vladimir Putin)

The video discusses how Ekho Moskvy is on the brink of bankruptcy but is being held afloat by Gazprom.

In many countries if a company goes bankrupt, there are no direct judicial consequences for the management: The assets are liquidated and the managers are fired. However if the debts are very high then management may be held liable. So why is Gazprom plying the company with cash that it knows will disappear? To make case for prosecution against Venediktov…?

Not having lived in Russia I only know what somebody said or something I’ve read. It is amazing to me (well it shouldn’t be by this time) that many intelligent people I know think Putin is an authoritarian dictator who kills journalists and ordered the MH17 shot down along with invading Crimea. The Saker’s analysis tracks for me.I imagine Putin would like to have the authority imputed to him. Instead it seems he is carefully and patiently navigating a course through treacherous shoals. Notice the restraint he showed when Turkey shot down a Russian bomber and using later events (the failed coup) to turn Turkey. The hard part is enabling a competent successor so his hard work is not undone.

Nothing would be a dagger through the heart of the Atlanticists like making the central bank publicly owned. I’ve always wondered why Putin hasn’t done it. He has the popularity to get massive support if he were to float the idea.

If anyone knows what is technically required to get a constitutional amendment done (required for this) then please post it as I am very curious. Does it take a certain percentage of parliament? A referendum?

As far as I know, EVERY country or regime who tried to have their own central bank was destroyed, and most often in a special way, like Libya, Iran being threatened and harrassed for it as foreplay to also their planned destruction. . So, perhaps Putin sees simply other more urging priorities than using this country as ante in a game to try to disprove that rule. His way being to avoid unnecessary or hazardous risks, it seems logical that he avoids this one, too.

While conservatives quoted Lenin that “peace simply means communist world rule,” today we might paraphrase, “peace simply means capitalist world rule,” or alternatively, “US global hegemony.” We have “peace” only insofar as there is no longer a specter of nuclear holocaust poised over the world. Harmony between nations, tribes, ethnicities, cultures, and religions remains elusive, however, and this in no small measure because those who hurrahed the demise of the Soviet bloc have ever since been even more avid in promoting their globalist agendas by promoting wars, civil wars, and “spontaneous revolts” because they no longer have the restraining factor of the Soviet bloc. With the Soviet bloc gone the Yankee is now astride the Earth like a half-witted adolescent, devoid of tradition and High Culture; a child cut free and told to do as it likes; a spoilt brat with weapons of mass destruction.
The Reuters report states that the Russian view of Gorbachev is ambivalent. Quoted is a middle-aged Moscow lawyer who states: “To me he is a good-for-nothing-man [who] simply betrayed his people, he destroyed the mechanism of the state and sold his country for nothing.”

President Medvedev, on the other hand, awarded Gorbachev Russia’s highest honors, yet enigmatically stated that the “big work” Gorbachev did, “can be assessed in different ways.” What might one think of this “compliment” other than that Medvedev, while feeling obliged to pay tribute to someone so esteemed by the “rich and famous,” has to live with the quagmire that he inherited from Gorbachev.

“Transformation,” transformational,” and “transformative” are well-worn words in Mr. Gorbachev’s globalist lexicon, always signifying a supposed urgent need to deconstruct the current political/economic system of sovereign, independent nation states and the market-based economy and restructure (transform) it into a globalized, centralized, socialized “new world order” (NWO).

In his address to the Lafayette students and faculty members, Gorbachev lamented that “the opportunities that existed after the end of the Cold War … were not used properly. At that same time, we saw that the entire world situation did not develop positively. We saw deterioration where there should have been positive movement toward a new world order.”

He continued:

But we still are facing the problem of building such a world order. We have crises: we are facing problems of the environment, of backwardness and poverty, of food shortages. All of these problems are because we do not have a system of global governance.

And yet what I see of Russian TV – largely through Vesti’s YouTube channel – shows me a Russia that is alive with ideas, in the way that perhaps the west was once in the past, or perhaps was never so.

Perhaps a nation that can be ruled by ideas is a place and time of uncertainty, and perhaps this speaks of jeopardy. But perhaps it also sounds out the true beat of life, where the future is unknown and up for the most passionately genius – or the most stoically faithful – to claim?

I don’t know but I honor the question, as I know you do.

Here’s a 10-minute brief but impassioned discussion on Soloviev’s show about disparaging the USSR, and reasons why Russia should remember its history, and honor its achievements. This speaks to me of a spiritual growth in a nation far deeper and broader than the mere political doctrines of east vs west:

The 5th column is exceedingly powerful in Russia at present & personalities such as Evgeny Federov have often been unfairly chastised for pointing out in some detail how far that power goes & how pervasive it remains – despite almost 2 decades of Putin. There is an elephant in the room with respect to Russia’s 5th column that does not receive the attention it deserves in my opinion, but it explains a lot, & that is the dependence of Russia’s economy & further economic development on trade with western Europe. This is an absolutely critical fact & pretty much provides all the answers to all the questions regarding the reasons why Russia remains very much subservient to the West. It will remain so for some time to come as well, & this is an unfortunate fact that I personally despise, but have to admit the truth of it. Eurasian integration & diversification of oil & gas exports to China & elsewhere will not develop fast enough to allow Putin to assert the kind of sovereignty of Russia that he absolutely unquestioningly craves for. Russia’s economic dependence on west Europe, led by Germany, is ultimately manipulated by the US, principally through NATO, in order to keep the 5th column firmly in place in Russia. A silent war has been raging for almost 2 decades now & will only begin to move significantly in Putin’s favor when wither 1 of 2 things happen, or both together, those are: 1, a severe split between the EU & US (not likely in my opinion but not impossible), 2. Russia’s reduced reliance on the west European oil & gas market as a consequence of diversification (more likely but will take longer). There are other possibilities as well but they are more vague & speculative. So that is it, economic dependence, & Putin has to grit his teeth & tolerate a lot of humiliation to ensure that Russia’s economic development continues, otherwise dreams of becoming a truly great power once more are just that, dreams.

I have faith that the Wall Street scamsters and the Military Industrial “Uncle Sam Butthole Surfer” Complex, will financially and morally bankrupt the USSA into becoming an ex-superpower.

The Fed is going to create an asset inflation bubble too far and unlike the 2008 Financial crisis “solved” by creating more government and corporate debt via Federal Reserve money printing. It won’t work now. It won’t know because of a ridiculous amount of corporate malinvestment with borrowed money.

There’s been a bull market uptrend since the low in 2009 fueled by Fed money printing and it takes almost a year for a bull market to transition to a bear market downtrend where 52 week lows will hit for the first time in ages. My best guess is that 2018 be the end of the bull market.

After that say hello to financial crisis part 2, where Americans get to experience what Russians experienced in the 90’s and Russians wouldn’t vote for an Atlanticist as far as they could $#!t on one.

The Russian and Chinese central banks know what’s going to happen to the US dollar eventually, why do you think they’ve been accummulating gold for ages and that’s how you get on Wall Street’s $#!t list for regime change.

Won’t work, Good Riddance to the psychopathic scamtards who wrecked to USSA

if the Russian fifth column is so persistent and strong, traditional and enmeshed socially, isn’t it reasonable to surmise that the military secrets of Russia are not safe from the west. how can they be given what the Saker describes above?

therefore what Russia is doing is simply developing military technology for the USA on the cheap..while American citizens are bled to economic death by an Succubus MIC.

it is safe to assume then that the Russian fifth column has already passed on to the CIA the schematics of S2,3,4 and 600 missile technology, as well as these ultrasonic weapons Putin has been singing about etc. I mean in the circumstance it is also safe to assume that the CIA would make it their first priority to access such Russian technology that threatens the west, though their comprador Russian fifth column

The proof is in the pudding. Do we actually see “in theater” actual development of US military tech based on Russian innovation that has been plagiarized i.e. stolen? To date the opposite seems to be the case, US military technology is still in 1st class in many respects, but in those areas where Russia has developed an advantage, the advantage seems to be very real & has the Pentagon in total panic. Plus, if completely deranged fools such as one Brendon O’Connel are to be believed – & whilst I wouldn’t dismiss everything this psychopath has to say there are some elements of truth to his ranting – the reverse is actually true, it is Russia that appears to have acquired advanced blueprints of all kinds of US innovated military tech via – would you believe? – Israel. Yes. Israel, the one & only. This seems to be happening, particularly in the field of computers, software & hardware, but it is not some James Bond like “Operation Talpiot” that is at work here, it is a much more complex arrangement in which Israel has used its unprecedented privileged access to the US to in some cases sell for cash money stolen blueprinted top secret innovations, & in some instances through an agent network where Russian GRU operatives work hand in hand with Israeli Aman & Mossad, to a lesser extent Shin Bet because the latter are not so relevant in this domain albeit with respect to surveillance tech.

Ben, interesting comment, and only a fool would dismiss it out of hand.
However, the Russian MIC and the empire’s MIC are on a different model altogether.

Whereas there is certainly graft and corruption, in both, making millionaires, and in some cases billionaires, the empire’s machinery excels over the Russian one is fleecing the public purse.
In Russia, where money has been less… available, outcome efficiency is scrutinized with much greater attention to detail, and therefore has a significant efficiency and effectiveness advantage over the empire’s developments.

It is this decline in investment efficiency and effectiveness, the corollary to the empire’s extreme efficiency and effectiveness at stealing money from the 99%.

So even if the empire can get the plans, the extreme corruption makes it difficult to deliver reasonable ROI in outcomes, i.e. the F-35 project.

Many in the Liberty Movement have studied and are well aware of the central banking cabal and its stranglehold on the U.S. and Europe. But strangely, some people refuse to acknowledge the substantial possibility that global bankers are also in control of Russia and are playing both sides of the burgeoning economic war.

As the Ukrainian crisis festers and other dangers in the Pacific and the Mideast grow, an odd consensus among alternative analysts is taking hold — namely the belief that President Vladimir Putin and Russia represent some kind of opposition to globalization and the rule of corporate financiers. Perhaps moments in Putin’s rhetoric and the existence of media outlets like RT have seduced elements of the Liberty Movement into assuming that Russia is a “victim” in the grand schemes of Western oligarchy and that Russia is truly the “white knight”, the underdog willing to stand up against the New World Order. I’m sorry to say that nothing could be further from the truth.

Russia is just as much a tool of the global elite today as it was after the Bolshevik Revolution, and Vladimir Putin is just as much a socialist puppet as Barack Obama. Let’s start from the beginning of the rebirth of Russia as a regional federation in the 1990s after the fall of the Warsaw Pact.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader largely credited with the ultimate dismantling of the Soviet Union and the rise of the “new” Russia, has long been a proponent of the “New World Order” (his words) and centralized global government. In an address entitled “Perspectives On Global Change” to the students of Lafayette College in Easton, Penn., Gorbachev argued that such a solution was necessary to safeguard “freedom.”

ad homienm statement removed… The so called 5-th collumn in power in Russian government was brought by Putin himself from St. Petersburg. “Piter’s gang” as common Rusians call them. They (and their commander Putin) are Russian patriots of their own variety in terms of defending their own interests against Western pressure, and the country in which they operate of course, but their own first. Putin played crucial role in improving the state of Russia after the disastrous rule of Yeltsin. Yet, now he is increasingly seen by the Russians as an obstacle to just and prosperity.
What Putin can do for Russia? Well, an old Russian woman said that during his direct TV meeting with people – “Уезжайте Владимир Владимирович, уезжайте по хорошему.” “Leave Mr Putin, go away for good.” yandex translation …. mod

Also, Mikhail Khazin has another prediction looking increasingly good, as he wrote a book about the US going into isolationism again. Well, that is what the trade war and sanctions regime and tariff regime increases, against EU, Japan, China, Iran etc, are increasing the isolationism of the US. Will it progress to more extreme situation? Khazin is very insightful, and so it is something to keep in mind for the future.

It does not make sense that Putin is afraid to move against this “5th Column” because “there will be blood tonight!”. Even I can see that letting such men create a regime in Russia would actually lead to lots of violence, and not just in Russia. So I don’t accept accept that Putin is afraid of the consequences of removing these men from power (I’m assuming they are all men).

I can think of three other possibilities: Putin is already neutered; Putin was complicit all along; or Putin has already won and the so-called Atlanticists are neutered. Without going into a lot of waffle, the first 2 points are clear drivel, thus I must accept that Putin et al have already won.

I’m no longer going to pay any attention to this talk of a 5th column. Unless someone is trying to prepare our minds for a scripted coup at the Kremlin, then I would suggest that TheSaker is being too pessimistic in his outlook. Putin has won.

The real problem is a neo-liberal ideology that still inhabits the minds of the elite in Moscow; it has economic and social dimensions but they all lead down the same road of destruction and revolution…with Oligarchs waiting to buy up the fragments. Putin needs to turn his back completely on the neoliberal nonsense and the private Central Banking model.

Let’s not forget that President Putin came to power when Russia was broken, the Jewish oligarchs ( 6 out of The Seven Samurai ) had so much financial power, the media, the political, the economic. The Russian people did not know Putin, the liberals were like piranha or termites, yet. ..he survived. I do not think today is worse than then.

Let’s not forget that it was a time when the Liberals, or those who threw themselves into the Atlantic ocean, even controlled the Russian Presidency between 2008 and 2012.

Now it is not good to be too optimistic, especially when we know the future,at least partially.

I think it would be the most important for Russia to nationalize the Central Bank of Russia, to help form the free press owned by moral people, active believers of the Orthodox Church and patriots, newspapers with wide national coverage. What would the Occident say about this ?

They also have to create powerful Russian private companies( which can not be sold to foreign investors ), but to be owned by moral people, Church people, humbled,carefully chosen, patriots and with respect for their employees. These owners should put young people with bright ideas to lead the companies,also experienced ones in their fields. The economic power in Russia should go from the hands of oligarchs to the moral and faithful people first and foremost young and patriotic.
Just as the Jewish oligarchy helps each other around the world, so Russia today should help its best people to have the moral, economic, political power in their country.

I notice that almost all comments on the Saker’s article in UNZ Review are very negative, but they are also manifestly free of any content disproving his contentions. Any perceived flaw in Putin seems to draw automatic and unthinking rejection in some quarters. Have they made Putin into some sort of infallible God?

The pension reform in Russia is acute since long ago . Unpopular decisions like this sure could be used to spark animosity against Russ. President .
I would agree with “…. specific aim of this ( pension reform ) is to overthrow Putin ” if it were not from Khazin- a disguised member of ” ухо мацы ” .

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